Learning from the genius of great filmmakers 👍 #90

This week, I’ve been looking into other industries to gain some perspective and knowledge that I can apply to my work in design. This week, it’s been film.

One of my favourite duos in filmmaking comes from the pairing of director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Interstellar) and the composer Hans Zimmer. For Interstellar, Nolan didn’t direct Zimmer on what to write so as to free him up in the creative process. Starting this way is virtually unheard of.

Nolan himself is passionate about “shooting in camera” and on film, only using visual effects to enhance the picture. He recognises that the industry is moving to digital, but wants to continue shooting on film because it has the “superior resolution and analog colour” that when projected, presents a unique experience that’s “very important”. He’s worked from the audience experience back to the technology.

Zimmer makes the point that he loves breaking the rules. He likes figuring out how to use woodwind and violin instruments in ways “you weren’t supposed to.” Recreating a ticking clock by hitting the violin strings with a pencil for example - it’s pure crazy! “Well, it sounds great - let me tell you” remarks Zimmer. And it does.

Using instruments in a unique way, recording in an old church rather than a recording studio and using the church organ itself as the principle instrument for a large-scale science fiction film fits the emotion of the story, rather that matching the genre.

What do I take from this?

They are experts in their craft. They’re not swayed by trends or what’s normal. They don’t plan everything on day one. They innovate and to do that, they hang on the emotion of the story and aim towards creating the very best work, contribute something original, not afraid to break “the rules.”

Personally, I just love basking in the excellence of experts pushing the envelope of their craft, rarely content with good and pushing for great relentlessly. Focusing on the details adds up to a high-quality product.

If you want to learn more, take a look at this documentary for how they created the Interstellar soundtrack. It’s perfect.

Another observation: They work on one project, deeply, for a couple of years, together, then move to the next one - something I’m trying to do in my work - work in weeks, rather than days and something I talked about at this week’s Winchester Creatives - check out the video below.

Another cool post from UX design supremo Jonathan Courtney. If you want to get a job in design, you need to distance yourself from everyone else, meet people, create conversation and use channels that are less crowded. Great tips - even for seasoned UX pros.

When it comes to successfully servicing big brands, you want to do the best job possible to ensure they never go elsewhere.

There’s two trains of thought here. Some designers I know take on anything, and they’ll figure out how to do it. Others only take on work they know they can do. Which is right? I doubt it’s that binary. One thing I try and do with every new project is tweak things slightly, usually in the process.

Slack is a force to be reckoned with. More than six million people use Slack every day as a hub and platform for communicating and sharing information with their coworkers. There are also groups such as TechLondon which give you the chance to communicate with other businesses. Get involved!

I remember Tom Southam from the early Rapha videos. You’ll now find him as Director at Cannondale-Drapac. Based in Bristol in the racing season, and Melbourne during the off season, he’s got plenty of time to listen to his favourite tracks. Disc Breaks interviews.

I loved watching this this week as I’ve been getting more into the Foos recently (I’m even learning Times Like These on the acoustic guitar which is helping me separate work from play). Anyway, if you’re a fan like me, put this on - there’s some great stories about parties, Paul McCartney drumming and the early days.